Books by Steven Johnson
Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
by Steven Johnson
In Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer bestselling author Steven Johnson—who among other books wrote the brilliant The Ghost Map—looks at what it is that has enabled human beings to radically increase their life expectancy over the last century.
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic
by Steven Johnson
In The Ghost Map, Steven Johnson explores the cholera epidemic in London of 1854. It tells the story of how John Snow, a doctor working in the Soho area and the Reverend Henry Whitehead, a local priest, put together, thanks to their local knowledge and Snow's scientific interests, the real source of the epidemic and how it was transmitted—through drinking water—and overturning other widely held views that had as much to do with social prejudice (that the poor were dirty and unhygienic) as science.
Where Good Ideas Come From
by Steven Johnson
Leo Hollis says: He shows that cities are fantastically creative places, and the places where good ideas are formed and developed
Jane Root says: The normal stereotype of an idea is that it’s a light bulb that goes off in somebody’s head. There’s this ‘eureka!’ moment and a fully formed idea emerges. What he points out is that that is very, very rarely the case.
Interviews where books by Steven Johnson were recommended
The best books on Why Cities Are Good For You, recommended by Leo Hollis
Half of the world’s population live in cities, and more are moving in. Urbanist Leo Hollis explains how city living makes us smarter and more creative, why slums are set to grow, and what the future of the city holds.
The best books on Where Good Ideas Come From, recommended by Jane Root
The former head of BBC2 reveals the two important ideas that made The Office a worldwide success, and says that most good ideas are little ones nurtured over time. Here she chooses five books that hold the key to success
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1
Polio: An American Story
by David Oshinsky -
2
Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver
by Arthur Allen -
3
The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis
by Paul Offit -
4
Microbe Hunters
by Paul de Kruif -
5
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic
by Steven Johnson
The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin
The Best Vaccine Books, recommended by Seth Mnookin
The history of vaccines is fascinating, and we highly recommend all the books discussed in this interview with Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus and Professor of Science Writing at MIT. These are gripping reads that tell the story of vaccines, medicine’s greatest life-saver, and the risks people took to find them.
The best books on Victorian Adventures, recommended by Stephen Evans
High Commissioner to Bangladesh chooses books on the defining moments of 19th-century Britain and describes the game of exploration & espionage played out by Britain and Russia in the 19th century
